Headlines

(By Loyd Ford) Smart morning shows all across America are thinking about how to really connect with audiences as people begin to move back into their ‘new’ habits in a ‘new’ world as we continue to watch Coronavirus impact and the return of economy and work.

(By Bob McCurdy) It's almost “game time” again with the country re-opening and lock down restrictions easing. What exactly the new normal will be is anyone’s guess, but it's a safe bet that May, June and July and possibly the rest of 2020 will not be a repeat of February for the overall economy, or media budgets.

Entercom SVP of Live Events and Experiences Jennifer Morrelli joins the RAB's Business Unusual live-video series this Wednesday. The name of the session, which takes place at 10AM Central, is “Creating Audience Engagement.

The West Virginia Radio Corporation was part of a 'Giving Tuesday', May 5 effort to restock depleted food pantries throughout the state. Country Roads Statewide Food Drive raised more than $53,000.00 and 24 tons of food.

The Edge Media Group based in Western Kentucky is one of three media organizations in the state to win a journalism project grant from Facebook. More than $16 million in funding was awarded to media outlets for local news coverage of COVID-19.

iHeart's early commitment to podcasting seems to be paying off. CEO Bob Pittman says podcasting revenue for the company grew 80% in the first quarter of 2020 and it's expected to grow 100% in Q2. He also said podcast revenue is growing at a faster clip than listener growth.

Even though he was sure to be cautious, with still so many unknowns, on the iHeart Q1 earnings call Thursday, CEO Bob Pittman did say that "May bookings are slightly up over April and we see June better than May."

Austin's NPR station, KUT-FM News, has been awarded a $100,000 COVID-19 Local News Relief Fund Grant from the Facebook Journalism Project to support its continuing COVID-19 reporting.

As president of The Cromwell Group, Bud Walters has insights in both larger (Nashville) and small (Mattoon, Il, among others) radio stations. He shares how the COVID 19 crisis impact on ad revenues has been different based on market size - and why - in today's podcast. LISTEN

Minnesota Public Radio will explore Asian racism during the pandemic. The hour long event is set for Tuesday, May 12 and is free and open to the public with prior registration.